After months of “will they or won’t they,” officials at MGM Springfield have informed the Massachusetts Gaming Commission they will reintroduce poker before the end of the year.
Daniel Miller, the casino’s compliance director, told the panel, “So, really, I think our first statement is that poker will be returning to MGM Springfield. We have plans that it will come back in Q4 of this year.”
The Springfield property and its rival, Wynn Resorts’ Encore Boston Harbor, both shut down poker during the worst of the pandemic. After all restrictions were lifted, they hesitated to bring back the games. This delay prompted hundreds of complaints to the MGM.
There will be fewer poker tables, however, no more than a dozen, instead of the 28 that were there before the arrival of Covid.
Whether Encore will follow suit is unknown. Last month, a representative said the casino had replaced the poker room with slots. A spokesman added, “Based on current market conditions and the resulting need to prioritize space, Encore Boston Harbor will not be bringing back live poker at this time. If and when poker should return to Encore, it will likely be at a reduced capacity.”
MGM Springfield also marked the celebration of the beginning of its fourth year with a new high-tech sports lounge that could be converted into a sports betting lounge, if the Bay State ever legalizes it. As MGM Springfield President and COO Chris Kelly declared, “Our best days still lie before us.”
The numbers would seem to bear him out. In July, the casino took in $23.71 million in gross gaming revenue, its best month since June 2019. The addition of poker could raise that total in coming months.
The new lounge has more than 70 luxury theater seats looking onto a 45-foot high-definition wall that can show 16 channels at once. Converting to sports betting would be seamless. Kelly added, “We’re very optimistic that we’ll see legislation later this year and in the event we have the opportunity to start taking bets this is the room. We’re ready to rock and roll.”
He continued, “I walk the floor of the casino every day and if there’s one question I get more than any other it is ‘When will I be able to place a sports bet at MGM Springfield?’”
